Business in Brief

Economics and Trade Minister Naftali Bennett said yesterday that Israel must promote technology colleges and produce more practical engineers and technicians. “I come from technology and I understand its problems,” he told the Knesset caucus for technology education. “Today the state produces hordes of lawyers and accountants. We need a productive country with real industry, not financial games fated to explode.” Only 11% of students in higher education are enrolled in technology colleges, which receive just 1.7% of the higher education budget. (Ora Coren and Zvi Zrahiya‏)

Average monthly wage drops to NIS 9,048

The average monthly wage dropped NIS 131 to NIS 9,048 in February from the month before, according to figures reported yesterday by the Central Bureau of Statistics. Thanks to natural gas exploration and development, the mining sector had the highest salaries in February, averaging NIS 20,641, and was also the fastest growth in terms of employment, at 10.2% on an annualized basis for the three-month period that ended February. Financial services and insurance workers enjoyed the largest average pay increase during the three-month period, an annualized 4.1% to NIS 15,858. Electric and water workers, traditionally the top earners, averaged NIS 17,119 a month in February. ‏(Moti Bassok‏)

Russians conducting security checks for El Al

For the first time ever, Russian security firms began last month conducting security checks for El Al Airline flights taking off from Moscow and St. Petersburg. After reaching an impasse with Russian authorities over security on Israel-bound flights, the Israeli government and security authorities agreed to a compromise arrangement whereby Russian agents perform the checks using Israeli aviation security procedures. El Al declined to respond to the report, saying it doesn’t comment on security issues. ‏(Zohar Blumenkrantz‏)